Chapter 14: A Welcome Cargo.
After the men had been rowing for an hour, Bob felt a slight breezespringing up from off the land, and said:
"You may as well get up the sail. It will help you along a bit."
The sail was a large one, for the size of the boat; and Bob felt adistinct increase in her pace, as soon as the men began to rowagain. He could make out the line of the hills against the sky; andhad, therefore, no difficulty in keeping the course. They were soonback opposite Marbella, the lights of which he could clearly makeout. Little by little the breeze gathered strength, and the rowershad comparatively easy work of it, as the boat slipped away lightlybefore the wind.
"What do you make it--twelve leagues from Marbella to the Rock?"
"About that," the man replied. "If the wind holds like this, weshall not be very far from the Rock by daylight. We are going alongabout a league an hour."
"Well, stretch out to it, lads, for your own sakes. I have no fearof a shot from Santa Barbara. The only thing I am afraid of is thatwe should be seen by any Spanish boats that may be cruising roundthat side, before we get under shelter of the guns of the Rock."
The fishermen needed no warning as to the danger of being caught,and bent again more strongly to their oars. After they had rowedtwo hours longer, Bob told them to pull the oars in.
"You had better have a quarter of an hour's rest, and some supperand a bottle of wine," he said. "You have got your own basket,forward. I will take mine out of this by my side."
As their passenger had paid for it, the boatmen had got a verysuperior wine to that they ordinarily drank. After eating theirsupper--bread, meat, and onions--and drinking half a bottle ofwine, each, they were disposed to look at the situation in a morecheerful light. Two hundred and fifty dollars was certainly wellworth running a little risk for. Why, it would make themindependent of bad weather; and they would be able to freight theirboat themselves, with fish or fruit, and to trade on their ownaccount.
They were surprised at the enterprise of this young trader, whomthey supposed to be a native of Gibraltar; for Bob thought that itwas as well that they should remain in ignorance of hisnationality, as they might have felt more strongly that they wererendering assistance to the enemy, did they know that he wasEnglish.
Hour after hour passed. The wind did not increase in force nor, onthe other hand, did it die away. There was just enough to keep thesail full, and take much of the weight of the boat off the arms ofthe rowers. The men, knowing the outline of the hills, were able totell what progress they were making; and told Bob when they werepassing Estepona. Two or three times there was a short pause, forthe men to have a draught of wine. With that exception, they rowedon steadily.
"It will be a near thing, senor," one of them said, towardsmorning. "The current counts for three or four miles against us. Ifit hadn't been for that, we should certainly have done it. As itis, it is doubtful."
"I think we are about a mile off shore, are we not?" Bob asked."That is about the distance I want to keep. If there are anycruisers, they are sure to be further out than that; and as forSanta Barbara, if they see us and take the trouble to fire at us,there is not much chance of their hitting such a mark as this, amile away. Besides, almost all their guns are on the land side."
The men made no reply. To them, the thought of being fired at bybig guns was much more alarming than that of being picked up by acruiser of their own nation; although they saw there might be agood deal of difficulty in persuading the authorities that they hadtaken part, perforce, in the attempt to get fruit into thebeleaguered garrison. Daylight was just beginning to break, whenone of the fishermen pointed out a dark mass inshore, but somewhatahead of them.
"That is Santa Barbara," he said.
They had already, for some time, made out the outline of the Rock;and Bob gazed anxiously seaward but could, as yet, see no signs ofthe enemy's cruisers.
"Row away, lads," he said. "They won't see us for some time and, inanother half hour, we shall be safe."
The Spaniards bent to their oars with all their strength, now; fromtime to time looking anxiously over their shoulders at the fort.Rapidly the daylight stole across the sky, and they were justopposite Santa Barbara when a gun boomed out, and a shot flew overtheir heads and struck the water, a quarter of a mile beyond them.With a yell of fear, the two Spaniards threw themselves at thebottom of the boat.
"Get up, you fools!" Bob shouted. "You will be no safer, downthere, than if you were rowing. If a shot strikes her she will besmashed up, whether you are rowing or lying down. If you staythere, it will be an hour before we get out of range of their gunswhile, if you row like men, we shall get further and further awayevery minute, and be safe in a quarter of an hour."
It was only, however, after he threatened to shoot them, if theydid not set to work again, that the Spaniards resumed their oars;but when they did they rowed desperately. Another shot from thefort struck the water a short distance astern, exciting a freshyell of agony from the men.
"There, you see," Bob said; "if you hadn't been sending her fasterthrough the water, that would have hit us.
"Ah! They are beginning from that sloop, out at sea."
This was a small craft that Bob had made out, as the lightincreased, a mile and a half seaward. She had changed her course,and was heading in their direction.
Retaining his hold of his pistols Bob moved forward, put out aspare oar, and set to to row. Shot after shot came from the fort,and several from the sloop; but a boat, at that distance, presentsbut a small mark and, although a shot went through the sail, nonestruck her. Presently a gun boomed out ahead of them, high in theair; and a shot fell near the sloop, which at once hauled her wind,and stood out to sea.
"We have got rid of her," Bob said, "and we are a mile and a halffrom the fort, now. You can take it easy, men. They won't wastemany more shot upon us."
Indeed, only one more gun was fired by the Spaniards; and then theboat pursued her course unmolested, Bob returning to his seat atthe helm.
"They will be on the lookout for us, as we go back," one of theSpaniards said.
"They won't see you in the dark," Bob replied. "Besides, as likelyas not they will think that you are one of the Rock fishing boats,that has ventured out too far, and failed to get back by daylight."
Once out of reach of the shot from the fort, the sailors laid intheir oars--having been rowing for more than ten hours--and theboat glided along quietly, at a distance of a few hundred feet fromthe foot of the cliff.
"Which are you going to do?" Bob asked them; "take fifty dollarsfor your fish, or sell them for what you can get for them?"
The fishermen at once said they would take the fifty dollars for,although they had collected all that had been brought in by theother fishermen--amounting to some five hundred pounds inweight--they could not imagine that fish, for which they would nothave got more than ten dollars--at the outside--at Malaga, couldsell for fifty at Gibraltar.
As they rounded Europa Point there was a hail from above and,looking up, Bob saw Captain O'Halloran and the doctor.
"Hulloa, Bob!"
"Hulloa!" Bob shouted back, and waved his hat.
"All right, Bob?"
"All right. I have got thirty boxes!"
"Hurrah!" the doctor shouted, waving his hat over his head. "Wewill meet you at the New Mole.
"That is something like a boy, Gerald!"
"It is all very well for you," Captain O'Halloran said. "You arenot responsible for him, and you are not married to his sister."
"Put yourself in the way of a cannonball, Gerald, and I will bemarried to her a week after--if she will have me."
His companion laughed.
"It is all very well, Teddy; but it is just as well, for you, thatyou did not show your face up at the house during the last threedays. It is not Bob who has been blamed. It has been entirely youand me, especially you. The moment she read his letter, she said atonce that you were at the bottom of it, and that it never wouldha
ve entered Bob's mind to do such a mad thing, if you had not puthim up to it; and of course, when I came back from seeing you, andsaid that you admitted that you knew what he was doing, it made thecase infinitely worse. It will be a long time before she takes youinto favour again."
"About an hour," the doctor said, calmly. "As soon as she findsthat Bob has come back again, with the fruit; and that he has asgood as saved the lives of scores of women and children; she willbe so proud of him that she will greet me as part author of thecredit he has gained--though really, as I told you, I had nothingto do with it except that, when I saw that Bob had made up his mindto try, whether I helped him or not, I thought it best to help him,as far as I could, to get away.
"Now, we must get some porters to carry the boxes up to your house,or wherever he wants them sent.
"Ah! Here is the governor. He will be pleased to hear that Bob hasgot safely back."
Captain O'Halloran had, when he found Bob's letter in his room onthe morning after he had left, felt it his duty to go to the townmajor's office to mention his absence; and it had been reported tothe general, who had sent for Gerald to inquire about thecircumstances of the lad's leaving. Captain O'Halloran had assuredhim that he knew nothing, whatever, of his intention; and that itwas only when he found the letter on his table, saying that he hadmade up his mind to get beyond the Spanish lines, somehow, and tobring in a boatload of oranges, for the use of the women andchildren who were suffering from scurvy, that he knew hisbrother-in-law had any such idea in his mind.
"It is a very gallant attempt, Captain O'Halloran--although, ofcourse, I should not have permitted it to be made, had I been awareof his intentions."
"Nor should I, sir," Captain O'Halloran said. "My wife is,naturally, very much upset."
"That is natural enough," the governor said. "Still, she has everyreason to be proud of her brother. A man could risk his life for nohigher object than that for which Mr. Repton has undertaken thisexpedition.
"How do you suppose he got away?"
"I have no idea, sir. He may have got down by ropes, from the backof the Rock--the way the deserters generally choose."
"Yes; but if he got down without breaking his neck, he would stillhave to pass our line of sentries, and also through the Spaniards."
"He is a very good swimmer, general; and may have struck out, andlanded beyond the Spanish forts. Of course, he may have startedfrom the Old Mole, and swam across to the head of the bay. He issure to have thought the matter well out. He is very sharp and, ifanyone could get through, I should say Bob could. He speaks thelanguage like a native."
"I have heard of him before," the governor said, smiling. "CaptainLangton told us of the boy's doings, when he was away in thatprivateer brig; and how he took in the frigate, and was the meansof the brig capturing those two valuable prizes, and how he hadswam on board a Spanish sloop of war. He said that no officer couldhave shown greater pluck, and coolness.
"I sincerely hope that no harm will come to him; but how--even ifhe succeeds in getting through the Spanish lines--he can manage,single handed, to get back here in a boat, is more than I can see.Well, I sincerely trust that no harm will come to him."
As the governor, with two or three of his staff, now came along,Captain O'Halloran went up to him.
"I am glad to say, sir," he said, "that young Repton has justreturned, and that he has brought in thirty cases of fruit."
"I am extremely glad to hear it, Captain O'Halloran," the governorsaid, warmly. "When it was reported to me, an hour since, that theSpanish fort and one of their cruisers were firing at a small boat,that was making her way in from the east, the thought struck methat it might be your brother-in-law.
"Where is he?"
"He is just coming round to the Mole, sir. Doctor Burke and myselfare going to meet him."
"I will go down with you," the governor said. "Those oranges areworth a thousand pounds a box, to the sick."
The party reached the Mole before the boat came in; for afterrounding the Point she had been becalmed, and the fishermen hadlowered the sail and betaken themselves to their oars again. Bobfelt a little uncomfortable when, as the boat rowed up to thelanding stairs, he saw General Eliott, with a group of officers,standing at the top. He was relieved when, on ascending the steps,the governor stepped forward and shook him warmly by the hand.
"I ought to begin by scolding you, for breaking out of the fortresswithout leave; but I am too pleased with the success of yourventure, and too much gratified at the spirit that prompted you toundertake it, to say a word. Captain O'Halloran tells me that youhave brought in thirty cases of fruit."
"Yes, sir. I have ten cases of oranges, and twenty of lemons. Ipropose, with your permission, to send half of these up to thehospitals, for the use of the sick there. The others I intend forthe use of the women and children of the garrison, and townspeople.Doctor Burke will see for me that they are distributed where theywill do most good."
"Well, my lad, I thank you most cordially for your noble gift tothe troops; and there is not a man here who will not feel gratefulto you, for the relief it will afford to the women and children. Ishall be very glad if you will dine with me, today; and you canthen tell me how you have managed what I thought, when I firstheard of your absence, was a sheer impossibility.
"Captain O'Halloran, I trust that you and Mrs. O'Halloran will alsogive me the pleasure of your company, at dinner, today."
"If you please, sir," Bob said, "will you give these two boatmen apass, permitting them to go out after dark, tonight. I promisedthem that they should not be detained. It is of the greatestimportance to them that they should get back before their absenceis discovered."
"Certainly," the governor said; and at once ordered one of theofficers of the staff to see that the pass was given; and ordersissued, to the officers of the batteries, to allow the boat to passout in the dark, unquestioned.
As soon as the governor walked away, with his staff, Bob washeartily greeted by Captain O'Halloran and the doctor.
"You have given us a fine fright, Bob," the former said, "and yoursister has been in a desperate way about you. However, now that youhave come back safe, I suppose she will forgive you.
"But what about all those fish? Are they yours? Why, there must behalf a ton of them!"
"No; the men say there are five or six hundred pounds.
"Yes, they are mine. I thought of keeping a few for ourselves, anddividing the rest between the ten regiments; and sending them up,with your compliments, to their messes."
"Not with my compliments, Bob; that would be ridiculous. Send themup with your own compliments. It will be a mighty acceptablepresent. But you had better pick out two or three of the finestfish, and send them up to the governor.
"Now then, let us set to work. Here are plenty of porters but,first of all, we had better get ten men from the officer of theguard here; and send one off, with each of the porters with thefish, to the regiments--or the chances are that these baskets willbe a good bit lighter, by the time they arrive there, than whenthey start. I will go and ask the officer; while you are gettingthe fish up here, and divided."
In a quarter of an hour the ten porters started, each with abouthalf a hundredweight, and under the charge of a soldier. The doctortook charge of the porters with the fifteen boxes of fruit, for thevarious hospitals; and then--after Bob had paid the boatmen the twohundred and fifty dollars due to them, and had told them they wouldget the permit to enable them to sail again, as soon as it becamedark--he and Captain O'Halloran started for the house, with the menin charge of the other fifteen boxes, and with one carrying theremaining fish--which weighed about the same as the other parcels.
"How did you and the doctor happen to be at Europa Point, Gerald?"Bob asked, as they went along.
"The doctor said he felt sure that whenever you did come--that is,if you came at all--you would get here somewhere about daylight;and he arranged with the officer in charge of the upper battery tosend a man down, with the news, if there wa
s a boat in sight.Directly he heard that the Spaniards were firing at a boat, he cameover and called me; and we went round to the back of the Rock. Wecouldn't be sure that it was you from that height but, as we couldmake out the boxes, we thought it must be you; and so walked downto the Point, to catch you there."
"Does Carrie know that a boat was in sight?"
"No, I wouldn't say anything to her about it. She had only justdropped off to sleep, when I was called. She woke up, and askedwhat it was; but I said that I supposed I was wanted on duty, andshe went off again before I was dressed. I was glad she did, forshe hadn't closed her eyes before, since you started."
Carrie was on the terrace when she saw Bob and Gerald, followed bya procession of porters, coming up the hill. With a cry of joy sheran down into the house, and out to meet them.
"You bad boy!" she cried, as she threw her arms round Bob's neck."How could you frighten us so? It is very cruel and wicked of you,Bob, and I am not going to forgive you; though I can't help beingglad to see you, which is more than you deserve."
"You mustn't scold him, Carrie," her husband said. "Even thegovernor didn't scold him; and he has thanked him, in the name ofthe whole garrison, and he has asked him to dine with him; and youand I are to dine there too, Carrie. There is an honour for you!But what is better than honour is that there isn't a woman andchild on the Rock who won't be feeling deeply grateful to Bob,before the day is over."
"Has he really got some fruit?"
"Yes. Don't you see the boxes, Carrie?"
"Oh, I saw something coming along, but I didn't see anythingclearly but Bob. What are these boxes--oranges?"
"Oranges and lemons--five of oranges and ten of lemons--and thereare as many more that have gone up to the hospital, for the use ofthe men.
"There, let us see them taken into the storeroom. You can open twoof them at once, and send Manola off with a big basket; and tellher to give half a dozen of each, with your love, to each of theladies you know. The doctor will take charge of the rest, and seeabout their division among all the women on the Rock. It will bequite a business, but he won't mind it."
"What is all this--fish?"
"Well, my dear, you are to take as much as you want; and you are topick out two or three of the best, and send them to the governor,with your compliments; and the rest you can divide and send out,with the fruit, to your special friends."
"But how has Bob done it?" Carrie asked, quite overwhelmed at thesight of all those welcome stores.
"Ah, that he must tell you, himself. I have no more idea than theman in the moon."
"It has all been quite simple," Bob said. "But see about sendingthese things off first, Carrie. Doctor Burke will be here, after hehas seen the others taken safely to the hospital; and I shall haveto tell it all over again, then."
"I am very angry with the doctor," Mrs. O'Halloran said.
"Then the sooner you get over being angry, the better, Carrie. Thedoctor had nothing whatever to do with my going; but when he sawthat I had made up my mind to go, he helped me, and I am extremelyobliged to him. Now, you may have an orange for yourself, if youare good."
"That I won't," Carrie said. "Thanks to our eggs and vegetables weare perfectly well and, when there are so many people really inwant of the oranges, it would be downright wicked to eat themmerely because we like them."
In a short time Manola--with two of the children from downstairs,carrying baskets--started, with the presents of fruit and fish, toall the ladies of Carrie's acquaintance. Soon after she had left,Doctor Burke arrived.
"I was not going to speak to you, Teddy Burke," Mrs. O'Halloransaid, shaking her head at him. "I had lost confidence in you; butwith Bob back again, and all this fruit for the poor creatures whowant it, I will forgive you."
"I am glad you have grace enough for that, Mrs. O'Halloran. It isdown on your knees you ought to go, to thank me, if I had myrights. Isn't Bob a hero? And hasn't he received the thanks of thegovernor? And hasn't he saved scores of lives, this blessed day?And although it is little enough I had to do with it, isn't it thethanks of the whole garrison ought to be given me, for even thelittle bit of a share I had in it?"
"We have been waiting for you to come, Teddy," Captain O'Halloransaid, "to hear Bob's story."
"Well then, you will have to wait a bit longer," the doctor said. "Ihave sent orderlies from the hospital to all the regiments--including,of course, the Artillery and Engineers--asking them to send me lists ofthe numbers of the women and children of the noncommissioned officersand privates, and also of officers' wives and families; and to sendwith the lists, here, two orderlies from each regiment, with baskets. Ihave been down to the town major, and got a list of the number of womenand children in the town. When we get the returns from the regiments,we will reckon up the totals; and see how many there will be, for each.I think that each of the boxes holds about five hundred."
The work of counting out the oranges and lemons for the variousregiments, and the townspeople, occupied some time; and it was notuntil the orderlies had started, with their supplies, that Bob satdown to tell his story.
"Nothing could have been easier," he said, when he finished.
"It was easy enough, as you say, Bob," the doctor said; "but itrequired a lot of coolness, and presence of mind. Events certainlyturned out fortunately for you, but you took advantage of them.That is always the point. Nobody could have done it better, andmost people would have done worse. I have been wondering myself agreat deal, since you have been gone, what plan you could possiblyhit on to get the oranges into a boat; and how, when you had gotthem in, you would manage to get them here. It seems all easyenough, now you have done it; but that is all the more creditableto you, for hitting on a plan that worked so well."
Similar praise was given to Bob when he had again to tell hisstory, at the governor's.
"So you managed, you say, to slip out with the reliefs?" thegovernor said.
"Yes, sir. I had got a military cloak, and hat."
"Still, it is curious that they did not notice an addition to theirparty. I fancy you must have had a friend there?"
"That, general, is a point that I would rather not say anythingabout. That is the way that I did go out and, when I took to thewater, I let the coat and hat float away for, had they been found,it might have been supposed that somebody had deserted."
"I wish you could have brought in a shipload, instead of aboatload, of fruit, Mr. Repton. They will be of immense benefit tothe sick but, unfortunately, there is scarcely a person on the Rockthat is not more or less affected and, if your thirty boxes weremultiplied by a hundred, it would be none too much for our needs."
The oranges and lemons did, however, for a time have a markedeffect in checking the progress of the scurvy--especially among thechildren, who came in for a larger share than that which fell tothe sick soldiers--but in another month the condition of those inhospital, and indeed of many who still managed to do duty, wasagain pitiable.
On the 11th of October, however, some of the boats of the fleetwent out, during a fog, and boarded a Danish craft fromMalaga--laden with oranges and lemons--and brought her in. Thecargo was at once bought by the governor, and distributed.
The beneficial effects were immediate. Cases which had, but a fewdays before, appeared hopeless were cured, as if by magic; and thehealth of the whole garrison was reestablished. Heavy rains settingin at the same time, the gardens--upon which, for months, greatattention had been bestowed--came rapidly into bearing and,henceforth, throughout the siege the supply of vegetables, if notample for the needs of the garrison and inhabitants, was sufficientto prevent scurvy from getting any strong hold again.
A few days after the ship with oranges was brought in, an orderlycame in to Captain O'Halloran with a message that the governorwished to speak to Mr. Repton. Bob was out at the time, but went upto the castle as soon as he returned, and was at once shown in tothe governor.
Illustration: Bob receives a Commission from the Governor.
"Mr. R
epton," the latter began, "after the spirit you showed, theother day, I shall be glad to utilize your services still farther,if you are willing."
"I shall be very glad to be useful in any work upon which you maythink fit to employ me, sir."
"I wish to communicate with Mr. Logie, at Tangiers," the governorsaid. "It is a month, now, since we have had any news from him. Atthe time he last wrote, he said that the Emperor of Morocco wasmanifesting an unfriendly spirit towards us; and that he wascertainly in close communication with the Spaniards, and hadallowed their ships to take more than one English vessel lyingunder the guns of the town. His own position was, he said, littlebetter than that of a prisoner--for he was closely watched.
"He still hoped, however, to bring the emperor round again to ourside; as he had, for years, exercised a considerable influence overhim. If he would grant him an interview, Mr. Logie thought that hemight still be able to clear up any doubts of us that the Spaniardsmight have infused in his mind. Since that letter we have heardnothing from him, and we are ignorant how matters stand, overthere.
"The matter is important; for although, while the enemy's cruisersare as vigilant as at present, there is little hope of our gettingfresh meat over from there, I am unable to give any directions tosuch privateers, or others, as may find their way in here. It makesall the difference to them whether the Morocco ports are open tothem, or not. Until lately, when chased they could run in there,wait for a brisk east wind, and then start after dark, and befairly through the Straits before morning.
"I am very desirous, therefore, of communicating with Mr. Logie. Iam also anxious, not only about his safety, but of that of severalEnglish families there; among whom are those of some of theofficers of the garrison who--thinking that they would be perfectlysafe in Tangiers, and avoid the hardships and dangers of thesiege--despatched them across the Straits by the native craft thatcame in, when first the port was closed.
"Thinking it over, it appeared to me that you would be far morefitted than most for this mission, if you would accept it. You havealready shown yourself able to pass as a Spaniard and, should youfind that things have gone badly in Tangiers, and that the Moorshave openly joined the Spaniards; you might be able to get apassage to Lisbon, in a neutral ship, and to return thence in thefirst privateer, or ship of war, bound for this port. I would ofcourse provide you with a document, requesting the officer incommand of any such ship to give you a passage. Should no suchneutral ship come along, I should trust to you to find your wayacross to Tarifa or Algeciras; and thence to manage in some way,which I must leave to your own ingenuity, to make your way in.
"I do not disguise from you that the commission is a verydangerous, as well as an honourable one; as were you, anEnglishman, detected on Spanish soil, you would almost certainly beexecuted as a spy."
"I am ready to undertake the commission, sir, and I am much obligedto you for affording me the opportunity of being of service. It isirksome for me to remain here, in idleness, when there are manyyoung officers of my own age doing duty in the batteries. As to therisk, I am quite prepared to run it. It will be exactly such anadventure as I should choose."
"Very well, Mr. Repton. Then I will send you the despatches, thisevening; together with a letter recommending you to all Britishofficers and authorities. Both will be written on the smallestpieces of paper possible, so that you may conceal them more easily.
"Now, as to the means. There are many of the fishermen here wouldbe glad to leave. The firing in the bay has frightened the greaterpart of the fish away and, besides, the boats dare not go anydistance from the Rock. I have caused inquiries to be made, andhave given permits to three men to leave the Rock in a boat, afternightfall, and to take their chance of getting through the enemy'scruisers. It is likely to be a very dark night. I have arrangedwith them to take a passenger across to Tangiers, and have giventhem permission to take two others with them. We know that thereare many Jews, and others, most anxious to leave the town beforethe enemy begin to bombard it; and the men will doubtless get agood price, from two of these, to carry them across the Straits.
"You will form an idea, for yourself, whether these boatmen aretrustworthy. If you conclude that they are, you can make a bargainwith them, or with any others, to bring you back direct. Iauthorize you to offer them a hundred pounds for doing so.
"Come up here at eight o'clock this evening. I will have thedespatches ready for you then. You will understand that if you findthe Moors have become absolutely hostile, and have a difficulty ingetting at Mr. Logie, you are not to run any risk in trying todeliver the despatches; as the information you will be able toobtain will be sufficient for me, without any confirmation fromhim."
After further conversation, Bob took his leave of the governor. Onhis return home, Carrie was very vexed, when she heard the missionthat Bob had undertaken and, at first, it needed all her husband'spersuasions to prevent her going off to the governor's, to protestagainst it.
"Why, my dear, you would make both yourself and Bob ridiculous.Surely he is of an age, now, to go his own way without petticoatgovernment. He has already gained great credit, both in his affairwith the privateer, and in fetching in the oranges the other day.This is far less dangerous. Here he has only got to smuggle himselfin, there he had to bring back something like a ton of oranges. Itis a great honour for the governor to have chosen him. And as toyou opposing it, the idea is absurd!"
"I shall go round to Major Harcourt," Bob said. "Mrs. Harcourt isterribly anxious about her daughter, and I am sure she will be gladto send a letter over to her."
"Carrie," Captain O'Halloran said gravely, "I have become a suddenconvert to your opinion regarding this expedition. Suppose thatBob, instead of coming back, were to carry Amy Harcourt off toEngland? It would be terrible! I believe that Mr. Logie, as HisMajesty's consul, could perform the necessary ceremony before theysailed."
Bob laughed.
"I should doubt whether Mr. Logie would have power to officiate, inthe case of minors. Besides, there is an English church, where thebanns could be duly published. No, I think we must put that off,Gerald."
Amy Harcourt was the daughter of one of the O'Hallorans' mostintimate friends: and the girl, who was about fifteen years old,was often at their house with her mother. She had suffered muchfrom the heat, early in June; and her parents had, at a time whenthe Spanish cruisers had somewhat relaxed their vigilance, sent heracross to Tangiers in one of the traders. She was in the charge ofMrs. Colomb, the wife of an officer of the regiment, who was alsogoing across for her health. They intended to stay at Tangiers onlyfor a month, or six weeks; but Mrs. Colomb had become worse, andwas, when the last news came across, too ill to be moved.
Major and Mrs. Harcourt had consequently become very anxious aboutAmy, the feeling being much heightened by the rumours of thehostile attitude of the emperor towards the English. Mrs. Harcourtgladly availed herself of the opportunity that Bob's missionoffered.
"I shall be glad, indeed, if you will take a letter, Mr. Repton. Iam in great trouble about her. If anything should happen to Mrs.Colomb, her position would be extremely awkward. I know that Mr.Logie will do the best he can for her but, for aught we know, heand all the English there may, at present, be prisoners among theMoors. I need not say how bitterly her father and I have regrettedthat we let her go; and yet, it seemed by far the best thing, atthe time, for she would get an abundance of fresh meat, food andvegetables.
"Of course, you will see how she is situated, when you get there;and I am sure you will give her the best advice you can, as to whatshe is to do. Not knowing how they are placed there, we can doliterally nothing; and you managed that fruit business sosplendidly that I feel very great confidence in you."
"I am sure I shall be glad to do anything that I can, Mrs.Harcourt; and if it had been a boy, I daresay we could have managedsomething between us--but you see, girls are different."
"Oh, you won't find any difficulty with her. I often tell her sheis as much of a boy, at present, as she is a
girl. Amy has plentyof sense. I shall tell her, in my letter, about your going out tofetch in the fruit for the women and children. She is inclined tolook up to you very much, already, owing to the share you had inthe capture of those Spanish vessels; and I am sure she will listento any advice you give her."
"Well, I will do my best, Mrs. Harcourt," Bob said, meekly; "but Ihave never had anything to do with girls, except my sister; and shegives the advice, always, and not me."
"By what she says, Bob, I don't think you always take it," Mrs.Harcourt said, smiling.
"Well, not quite always," Bob admitted. "Women are constantlyafraid that you are going to hurt yourself, or something, just asif a boy had got no sense.
"Well, I will do what I can, Mrs. Harcourt. I am sure I hope that Ishall find them all right, over there."
"I hope so, too," Mrs. Harcourt said. "I will see Captain Colomb.He will be sure to give you a letter for his wife. I shall talk itover with him and, if he thinks that she had better go straighthome, if any opportunity offers, I shall tell Amy to go with her;and stay with my sister, at Gloucester, till the siege is over, andthen she can come out again to us. I will bring you down theletters, myself, at seven o'clock."
From her, Bob went to Dr. Burke.
"I have just come from your house, Bob. I found your sister in adespondent state about you. I assured her you had as many lives asa cat; and could only be considered to have used up two or three ofthem, yet, and were safe for some years to come. I hinted that youhad more to fear from a rope than either drowning or shooting. Thatmade her angry, and did her good. However, it was better for me tobe off; and I thought, most likely, that you would be coming roundfor a talk.
"So you are going officially, this time. Well, what disguise areyou going to take?"
"That is what I have been thinking of. What would you recommend,doctor?"
"Well, the choice is not a very extensive one. You can hardly go asyou are because, if the Moors have joined the Spaniards, you wouldbe arrested as soon as you landed. Gerald tells me that, probably,two of the Jew traders will go away with you. If so, I should sayyou could not do better than dress in their style. There are manyof them Rock scorpions, and talk Spanish and English equally well;but I should say that you had better take another disguise."
"That is what I was thinking," Bob said. "The boatman will knowthat I have something to do with the governor, and the two Jewswill certainly know that I don't belong to the Rock. If they findthat the Moors have joined the Spaniards, these Jews may try to getthrough, themselves, by denouncing me. I should say I had betterget clothes with which I can pass as a Spanish sailor, orfisherman. There are almost sure to be Spanish ships, in there.There is a good deal of trade between Tangiers and Spain.
"Then again, I shall want my own clothes if I have to take passagein a neutral, to Lisbon. So I should say that I had better go downto the town, and get a sort of trader's suit, and a fisherman's, atone of the low slop shops. Then I will go as a trader, to startwith; and carry the other two suits in a bag."
"That will be a very good plan, Bob. You are not likely to benoticed much, when you land. There are always ships anchored there,waiting for a wind to carry them out. They must be accustomed tosailors, of all sorts of nationalities, in the streets. However, Ihope you will find no occasion for any clothes, after you land, butyour own. The Moors have always been good friends of ours; and theemperor must know that the Spaniards are very much more dangerousneighbours than we are, and I can hardly believe he will be foolenough to throw us over.
"I will go down with you, to buy these things."
Bob had no difficulty in procuring the clothes he required at asecondhand shop, and then took the lot home with him. Carrie had,by this time, become more reconciled to what could not be avoided;and she laughed when Dr. Burke came in.
"You are like a bad penny, Teddy Burke. It is no use trying to getrid of you."
"Not the least bit in the world, Mrs. O'Halloran. Fortunately, Iknow that, however hard you are upon me, you don't mean what yousay."
"I do mean it, very much; but after you are gone I say to myself,'It is only Teddy Burke,' and think no more of it."
That evening, at nine o'clock, Bob embarked on board the fishingboat, at the New Mole. One of the governor's aides-de-campaccompanied him, to pass him through all the guards; and orders hadbeen sent, to the officers in command of the various batteries,that the boat was not to be challenged. It was to show a light froma lantern, as it went along, in order that it might be known. Theother two passengers and the boatmen had been sitting there sincebefore gunfire, and they were glad enough when Bob came down andtook his seat in the stern, taking the tiller ropes.
The oars had been muffled, and they put off noiselessly. When theygot past Europa Point they found a light breeze blowing, and atonce laid in their oars, and hoisted sail. A vigilant lookout waskept. Once or twice they thought they made out the hulls ofanchored vessels, but they gave these a wide berth and, when themorning broke, were halfway across the Strait, heading directly forTangiers. In another six hours they entered the port. There werehalf a dozen vessels lying in the harbour. Four of these wereflying Spanish colours, one was a Dane, and the other a Dutchman.
From the time morning broke, Bob had been narrowly examining hisfellow passengers, and the boatmen; and came to the conclusion thatnone of them were to be trusted. As soon as he stepped ashore, withhis bag in his hand, he walked swiftly away and, passing throughthe principal streets, which were crowded with Moors, held steadilyon, without speaking to anyone, until he reached the outskirts ofthe town; and then struck off among the hedges and gardens.